Murray plays down Open chances

Andy Murray will take on Juan Ignacio Chela of Argentina in the first round of the Australian Open today. Andy will be third out at the Vodafone Arena, play starts at 12PM GMT - discuss and get updates here.

British teenager Andy Murray played down on Saturday his chances of making a big impact at the Australian Open by saying he was years away from mounting a serious challenge for the title.

Murray said:

I think everybody just has to keep everything in perspective. I had a great year last year but I'm still only 18 years old and I'm playing against guys who are still higher ranked than me and have much more experience.

It's not the end of the world if I lose to them, it's just a better experience for me.

Murray, 18, became the new pin-up boy of British tennis when he reached the third round at Wimbledon last year and climbed 449 places to end the season ranked 84th in the world.

But the Scotsman said his performances had been blown out of proportion and he was still a long way from reaching the top.

I do expect a lot of myself, so I can see why people do think I'm going to do well. But everybody just has to realise it doesn't happen that easy. It's going to take a while before I play my best.